


This Way To Recovery

by RichardGraysonPercyJackson



Series: All For You And Follow Up Shorts [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse, Rape Recovery, Recovery, sequel short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-24 01:30:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20018035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RichardGraysonPercyJackson/pseuds/RichardGraysonPercyJackson
Summary: It's been six months since Dick killed Bruce and the acrobat is tired of still hiding in the man's shadow.It's time he destroyed Bruce's touch on Gotham once and for all.





	This Way To Recovery

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read "All For You", this is kinda a sequel. So while this will *kinda* make sense without it, I'd advise you read "All For You" first

“We should do something with the manor.”

Jason blinked up at Dick who he hadn’t even heard walk into the kitchen but was standing there, watching him intently.

“What?” he asked. “I thought you never wanted to go back there.”

“I don’t,” Dick replied. “But if we let it sit, someone is going to try and break in. And if someone breaks in and finds the cave, we’re all going to be in trouble.”

Jason groaned. “Please don’t tell me you still give a shit about Tim.”

Dick frowned. “I wasn’t talking about him,” he said quietly.

“Oh.” Now Jason felt bad. He shifted, placing his bookmark between his pages and setting his book aside to give Dick his full attention. “I’m sorry. What did you want to do?”

“I don’t want to live there,” Dick said firmly. “Not now. Not ever again. But I think we should move into the penthouse. It’s closer to Wayne Enterprises anyway.”

“Which reminds me that we need to work on changing the name and logo for that,” Jason replied. “Force the people of Gotham to face that Bruce was a fucking asshole who manipulated and abused everyone in his care.”

Dick ignored him. Jason wasn’t surprised. Even now, even  _ after  _ Dick had killed Bruce, he still hated anytime Jason brought him up just to bash him.

For that, Jason hated Bruce even more. 

“I was thinking we could turn it into something to help,” Dick explained. “To give back.”

“Such as?”

“A Justice League run orphanage,” Dick offered. “Or...Grayson run orphanage.”

Jason wanted to make a joke but he knew why Dick suggested himself running it.

Because he was bored. He couldn’t get a job due to still being considered too mentally unstable after what Bruce had done and as such, had been sitting around the safehouse for the last six months, too terrified to leave.

Jason blinked. Had it really already been six months since Bruce died? He shook his head, forcing himself to stay on track.

“You would screen the parents yourself?” he asked.

“I might ask a friend to help,” Dick replied. “But I could use the batcave to screen parents and staff.”

Jason understood exactly what Dick wanted to do. He wanted to make sure no kid ended up in the same place as he was, abused and manipulated and brainwashed.

Dick would never say it like that though, and Jason knew better than to voice those exact words.

To Dick, anyway. Sometimes he still ranted to Roy or Kori after Dick had gone to bed.

“That’s a great idea, Dick,” he said with a smile. 

“I want to talk to Commissioner Gordon first though,” Dick said quietly. “To...to make sure it’s okay.”

“Yeah, sure thing,” Jason agreed eagerly. “Do you want to head down now, or-”

“No, no not yet,” Dick hurried to say, shaking his head rapidly. “No, no Jay-”

“Hey, alright, I was just asking,” Jason soothed. “It’s late anyway. I just wasn’t sure if you wanted to get started right away.”

“Tomorrow?” Dick asked.

“Sure thing, Dick,” Jason replied. “We’ll go talk to Gordon tomorrow.”

……………………

“Aren’t you tired?”

Jason took a sip of his beer, glancing over at Roy. “Tired?” he asked.

“Of taking care of him all the time,” Roy clarified, jerking his head in the direction of Dick’s bedroom. “You have to be on your toes  _ all the time _ and be careful of what you say every second of every-”

“Roy, have you voiced any of these complaints to Dick?” Jason asked.

“If I have?”

“Dick suggested earlier that we move to the Penthouse,” he explained. “I just wondered if maybe you'd said any of this shit to him.”

“See man, you just proved my point,” Roy said with a sigh. “If you keep trying to protect him from every damn thing, he’s  _ never  _ going to recover.”

“And if I throw everything at him at  _ once _ , he’s going to shatter,” Jason snapped. He closed his eyes and forced himself to stay calm. “He’s my brother, Roy. He was being abused while I sat on my ass and did nothing.”

“You were abused too.”

“Thankfully, I’ve forgotten most of it,” Jason replied. “Look, he’s just...Roy, this is the first time in his life he’s ever been able to make his own decisions and he can’t even get a job cause he’s still considered too mentally unstable for anyone to hire him.”

“So what’s the plan then?”

“He wants to reconfigure the manor as a sort of orphanage,” Jason replied. “Using the batcave to screen parents and staff to make sure no other kid ends up the way he did.”

“I think that’s a  _ wonderful  _ idea,” Kory said as she came into the room. “In fact, I would be more than willing to help him.”

“Kory, that’s great!” Jason said. “Dick will be so happy!”

……………

“Really?” Dick asked, staring up at Kory the next day.

“Of course,” Kory replied with a smile.

Dick stared at her before turning to Jason. “Are we going to talk to Gordon?”

“Sure thing,” Jason replied, standing and grabbing his cell phone. “Let’s head out.”

…………………………..

“Richard, that’s wonderful that you want to do that,” Gordon said, smiling at the two young men in front of him. “Would you like me to put out some applications?”

“Could you?” Dick asked. “And...give me the names? Cause...cause I wanna look into them first and-”

“Richard, you’re going to be the one in charge,” Gordon reminded him. “You’re the one who gets to pick the ones who get hired, in the end.”

Dick nodded. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Yeah, I can.”

……………..

“Dick, you don’t have to go in  _ now  _ if you don’t want to,” Jason whispered as they stood on the front porch of the manor, Dick frozen with the key in hand.

“I have to,” he said quietly. “I just have to make it to the cave. He can’t touch me in the cave.”

Jason didn’t say anything but placed a reassuring hand on Dick’s shoulder. After a few silent, still moments, Dick took a slow breath and unlocked the door.

Stepping back in for Jason was like a blast from the past and he couldn’t imagine how Dick was feeling. It was probably more like stepping into his nightmare.

“Dick-”

“We have all of Bruce’s money so we’ll need to redecorate,” Dick mused. “Probably build up some walls in the bedrooms, make them a little smaller in order to fit more rooms int he manor.”

Jason couldn’t help but smile as they made their way to the cave, Dick going on and on about the changes they were going to make.

“Bruce’s study can be mine, just so no one finds the entrance to the cave,” he continued to say as they made their way down the stairs. “But Bruce’s room should be closed off.”

That got Jason’s attention. “Why?” he asked.

Dick shot him a look that told Jason the answer should have been obvious. “There’s a bloodstain in there,” he replied, deadpan. “And no one should have to go back in there and let the nightmares free from behind that door.”

Jason made a mental note to talk to Dick’s therapist about that. “You have your list of applicants?” he asked as Dick took a seat and fired up the computer.

“Yes,” Dick replied.

“Well then,” Jason said, pulling up another seat. “Let’s get started.”

…………………

Most of the applicants were crooked or had a dark background which clearly disappointed Dick. But he was quickly distracted with painting and renovations and looking over more applications.

Six months later, he stood in the newly done entry hall with Jason and Kory at his side, facing their new employees.

“You all know what happened to me here,” he said quietly. “It was publicized. I’d be amazed if you didn’t.” he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Depending on how old the kids are, they might ask about the place. If there are ghosts or monsters.”

He straighted up, speaking firmly. “The monster is dead and nothing will hurt them here. When Gotham didn’t want them, we did. I want the kids here to know that they are safe from anything that might hurt them. That we will  _ never  _ let anything happen to any of them.”

The employees nodded, murmuring amongst each other until one stepped up. “Mr. Grayson, how do you plan to handle the parents? You claim that the kids won’t be sent to someone like Mr. Wayne, but how can you prevent that?”

“Mr. Wayne contributed a great amount of money towards the Justice League,” Dick replied. “That job falls on me now. In return, they will screen our parents and employees. This children will  _ not  _ end up where I did. I will ensure it.”

………………..

“I’m proud of you, Dick,” Jason said as the two of them sat in a back booth at a restaurant later that night. 

“It was time I faced my fears, Jason,” Dick replied calmly. “I spent the last six months hiding away and refusing to think about what happened to me. But being in the manor again, being the one in charge of everything…” he smiled. “I have control now.”

“You do,” Jason replied. “And I am so proud of you, Dick.”

“To Dick!” Kory chimed in. “For his amazing contribution to the city of Gotham!”

“To Dick!” Jason and Damian chimed in.

Dick smiled. And for the first time in six months, he went to sleep without giving Bruce a second thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Share your thoughts!!!


End file.
